Picture/Artist Study

{ May 10, 2007 @ 11:28 am } · { art, picture study }
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I have selected 3 different and interesting artists for our picture study this year, in order to pique DD’s interest as we begin this new venture. I also wanted to choose artists of whom I could find ample resources, since we are just starting out. So this year we’ll study:

Michelangelo, Rembrandt and Monet (in that order)

My favorite website to find prints online? They are:

Artcyclopedia – Lists various museums around the world with prints online
ibiblio’s Web Museum

Artchive

CGFA – extensive

And, if you are wanting to print some prints from the internet, this site – Image Resolution, Size and Compression – is excellent to help you understand resolution a bit and see if the print’s file size will work for the size print you want to make.

If you’re looking for a free book online about art for children, The Book of Art for Young People can be found over at Project Gutenberg.

We’ll be making a Fine Art album. I got the idea from Linda Fay at Higher Up and Further In. Visit her site to find out more about how to make one. I think it’s a great idea.

I also will be changing my desktop to the print of the week ;)

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Here’s how we will do artist/picture study:

Each week, on Friday we will do our studies. I’ll first introduce DD to the artist and let her look through a book or 2 from the library on the artist. Then I will selet a print and give her some time to study it with her eyes, look at all the details and enjoy to picture. Then I will take the picture and hold it so that I can see it, but she cannot. And I will ask her to “narrate” the picture for me, tell me everything she can remember about it.

I will also, as I said, put it on my computer desktop and then post the picture in our school room and on the refrigerator.

I plan on checking out several books throughout the 12 week rotation for each artist. I will choose 6 prints for the 12 weeks term and we will study 1 print for 2 weeks.

Summer Read Alouds

{ May 10, 2007 @ 1:09 am } · { planning, read alouds }
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I’ve compiled a list of our summer read alouds if you’re interested …

Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater
Winnie the Pooh Books by A.A. Milne
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
James Herriot’s Treasury for Children by James Herriot
The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang
Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling
Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi
Saint George and the Dragon by Margaret Hodges
Aesop for Children – Milo Winter
Pippie Longstocking by Astrid Lindgreno
Amelia Bedelia series by Peggy Parish

Currently we’re reading through Just So Stories and loving it :)

The American Girl Handy Book

{ May 8, 2007 @ 12:02 pm } · { handicrafts }
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I am so excited. I bought The American Girl Handy Book at our homeschool conference last Friday and it is packed with tons of good things! The link above takes you to Amazon.com’s site and you can search inside and see the table of contents. I was hoping to find this or something similar. I have been so inspired as I am reading The Charlotte Mason Companion and Karen Andreola’s talking about making corn husk dolls and dipping candles for the fall.

I also picked up Pioneer Crafts to use during our American History studies. I agree with Charlotte Mason about the need for our children to do handicrafts and not cut-n-paste crafts. I see so much more pleasure in my DD when she is sewing or emdroidering or painting than when she is doing a cut-n-paste craft. And I am enjoying learning more about handicrafts myself.

*A word of warning: This is NOT the same book that you will find at Wal-Mart and other like places (same title, different cover). That book does not contain the same crafts and it contains a section about fortune telling.

Year 2 Revisited

{ May 8, 2007 @ 11:53 am } · { art, music, planning }
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I have revisited my plan for next year and saw the need to revise my artist and composer schedule. I am wanting to introduce DD to artists and composers that will pique her interest, so I have chose the following for next year:

Artists:
Michelangelo
Rembrandt
Monet

Composers:
Beethoven
Vivaldi
Mozart

You can see my revised Year 2 plan here.

Handicrafts – Sewing & Embroidering

{ April 28, 2007 @ 11:20 am } · { handicrafts }
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I am trying to get my dear daughter away from cut-n-paste crafts and into real handicrafts. Right now we have 4 of the Winky Cherry books and kits – My First Sewing Book, My First Embroidery Book, My First Doll Book, and My First Sewing Machine Book. Each of these books you can buy as just the book, but I do recommend the kits since everything you need is inside (sans the stuffing — got to go buy some more of that!).

Yesterday morning she wanted to sew. She loves to sew the little felt stuffed animals that you learn how to make in the 1st book – My First Sewing Book. She made a red and yellow unicorn and we used red yarn to give it a mane and tail. She loves it, and she loved making it. Later, when “school” was “over” for the day she wanted to embroider.

Now, she’s only embroidered one other time, so this was her first time embroidering a picture like this. I posted it over to the left (it needs to be ironed, as you can see!). I think that’s pretty good for a 6-year-old’s 2nd time ever embroidering. She made many mistakes, and got frustrated, but through it all we talked about how mistakes are for learning. She was quite proud of her craft and so am I!
Charlotte advocated the child’s learning handicrafts. In her day, those handicrafts could help to support and enable the child as he or she grew to adulthood. So we have expanded the list to include life skills, which are likewise important in teaching children to be industrious and preparing them to manage their own households someday.

Four succinct points should be kept in mind when selecting handicrafts and life skills

  • The end-product should be useful. The children should not “be employed in
    making futilities such as pea and stick work, paper mats, and the like.”
  • Teach the children “slowly and carefully what they are to do.”
  • Emphasize the habit of best effort. “Slipshod work should not be allowed.”
  • Carefully select handicrafts and life skills to challenge but not frustrate. “The children’s work should be kept well within their compass.

(from Simply Charlotte Mason)

A Plan!

{ April 27, 2007 @ 8:02 pm } · { planning }
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I so wish I would have done Ambleside Online or Higher Up & Further In’s schedule for Year 1 last year! But I didn’t, so this year I am combining some of AO’s Year 1, Year 2 and some of Higher Up & Further In’s Year 1, Year 2 and my own things I want to cover. Do you think me brain is exhausted? Whew! So here is my schedule …

If you have any questions (I have had a few) then please let me know!

Blessings :)

Zoology 1: Flying Creature of the Fifth Day

{ April 27, 2007 @ 12:39 pm } · { planning, science }
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I am on a planning roll! Well, our state conference is next week (YAY!) and I am wanting to get most of my planning done so that I know what I need/want to buy. I began my planning for science yesterday and I finished this morning. I thought I would also share those files with you in case you are trying to figure out how to plan Exploring Creation with Zoology 1: Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day. All the schedules that I have found online are for 28 weeks, but I wanted to stretch it out the entire 36 weeks.

Zoology 1 was written by Jeannie Fulbright and I really like her. I like her writing and I have enjoyed hearing her speak as well. I hope these help you out some :)

You can also find pre-made (by Jeannie) notebooking pages here. Also, there are insect flashcards (for lesson 13) and notebooking pages without writing.

Just to answer a question you may have on the plans I made … Why jump from Lesson 1 to Lesson 9? Lesson 9 begins insect study and this should be done while it’s still warm outside :)

I plan on ordering the Zoology 1 kit from Creation Sensation, as well as the Bird Field Guides (I think – I have one and I might find others I like elsewhere – I do want to get Birds, Nests and Eggs), the Build-a-Birdhouse Kit (since it meets the specifications in Zoology 1) and the Painted Lady Butterfly Larvae. You can see a complete list of supplies included in the kit here.

I will also be ordering Ladybug Larvae from Insect Lore (BTW this is a great site with games to play, things to learn and, of course, a place to shop!)

Happy Planning!

Simply Charlotte Mason

{ April 26, 2007 @ 3:09 pm } · { Charlotte Mason, websites }
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Have you seen Sonya’s site yet? It’s simply called Simply Charlotte Mason. Here are the goodies you’ll find:

  • Her blog
  • Parenting Tips
  • Info about getting started and FAQs
  • A CM Bookfinder
  • Books Sonya has written (i.e. Laying Down the Rails: A Charlotte Mason Habits Handbook – can’t wait to get my hands on this; and Spelling Wisdom)
  • A CM Organizer
  • Curriculum Guide w/ suggestions
  • Schedules
  • Timesavers

Thanks for all your work Sonya!

Truth Quest American History for Young Students 1

{ April 26, 2007 @ 10:24 am } · { history, planning }
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My dear husband is happy, I think ;) … every time he calls me and asks, “What are you doing?” my response is, “Planning.”

I am excited that I am done … with history at least. So, I thought I would share my history plans with you. I have searched and searched for some help with planning Truth Quest and didn’t find much, so if you are also searching I want to share in order to help you.

These also have the era, our artist, composer, poet and read alouds (which correspond to our history schedule) listed, as well as the extras we’ll be using along with the given topic, if any. I haven’t listed the spine, because I know that we’ll be using This Country of Ours (TCOO), since it’s free online (these are 2 separate links that take you to 2 different sites, each with a free copy of TCOO).

AHYS1 Term 1
AHYS1 Term 2
AHYS1 Term 3

I have it broken down into terms because that works best for me for planning. Each term is 12 weeks long. Each week has the topic(s) listed along with the corresponding section # in the Truth Quest guide.

I plan on putting more files here on my blog to share, so I’ll let you know when I do :)

*pdf creation courtesy of PDF online – convert to pdf for free!

TruthQuest

{ April 24, 2007 @ 1:52 pm } · { history, planning }
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It came in the mail yesterday … my brand new copy of TruthQuest American History for Young Students 1 – Exploration to 1800. When bedtime came around I got cozy in my PJs and under the covers and began to read through the guide. What a wonderful resource!!! I’ve already learned something in my reading that I (*blush*) did not know … the Puritans and Pilgrims are not the same people. Did you know that? I didn’t, I’m sorry to say. Anyway, it’s a wonderful smorgasbord of delightful living literature on just about every aspect of America from the exploration to 1800. I am so excited to sit down today and begin my real planning (I was waiting on this to arrive). Hope you all have as much fun planning as I do :)

Blessing!

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